


The Dragon-Butterfly Dance

by Dolce_Aria



Category: Original Work/Fandom
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23295895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dolce_Aria/pseuds/Dolce_Aria
Summary: “Furai..” Youra holds the name on her tongue, trying to familiarize herself with it.“That isn’t your real name, is it?”“Nope. I’m guessing Mireu isn’t yours either?” The girl asks her, quickly glancing at the night’s roster of performers.
Relationships: Im Youra|Suzuki Haeyun, may add more as chapter progresses
Kudos: 2





	1. Wanna Dance?

The stage lights up and the crowd goes silent. They hold their breaths in anticipation, she’s the one they’ve been waiting for all night. The famed Dragon Dancer, they call her.

As soon as Youra hears the first beat, she looks up to see the crowd and moves. She has to admit that even though most of them were blurred from her nervousness and the lights, seeing their judging faces unnerved her a little, but this was her first official performance. It was way different from dancing on the streets like she’s used to. She was given a chance to prove herself and she couldn’t mess this up.

_Hit-hit-1-and-2-stop-bam-bam-hit-boom._

She hits every beat and moves powerfully but with grace. Before she knows it, her second song starts. She aced her first song. So far, so good. That is, until her eyes fall on the most beautiful girl she’s ever seen in her life. It was only for a split-second, but she saw that the girl had platinum white hair and a face like an angel’s. She nearly misses a step in pure awe, but she’s better than that. She tries to take her mind off of the girl for the time being and finishes off her performance as with an ending as strong as she began it. She takes a moment to bathe herself in the warm stage lights and enjoy the crowd’s applause before quickly going down. Nothing beats the feeling of your hard work and tireless practices paying off.

After going down the stage, she smiles to herself knowing she did well. She _did it_. 

She sets herself down on a red icebox backstage and wipes the sweat dripping down her face with a towel given to her by staff. She was exhausted and eager to leave, but then she remembers the girl she saw while performing. She was absolutely magical. She was a vision of beauty.

She _has_ to know who she is. 

So despite the protests of her worn-out feet, she gets up from the icebox she was sitting on backstage and walks over to Missy, the club’s host, and organizer. Missy was an older woman in her 30’s with brown curly hair and a curvy figure who was known for her signature red lips. Youra shared a few late drinks with Missy and the other performers some nights.

“Hey Missy, happen to see any pretty girls with white hair here?” Youra internally cringes at her decision to describe the girl as pretty. She was more than pretty, but she couldn’t exactly go on a tangent about how beautiful she was.

“Why? A new type of yours?” 

“Just answer the question, Missy,” Youra says in a very deadpan tone, still wiping sweat from her brows, careful not to accidentally smudge her makeup.

“ _Sheesh_ , they don’t call you ‘ _dragon_ ’ for nothing, do they? If a pretty girl with white hair is who you’re looking for, there’s one by the bar.” Missy says as she tosses her brown locks over her shoulder nonchalantly.

“You’re the best, Missy!”

“Only when you need something from me!” Missy shoots back at her. Youra rolls her eyes.

Youra was set on meeting this girl. She skillfully manages to navigate her way through the slew of people on the dance floor and after being nearly hit by a waiter carrying a tray of drinks, she finds herself at the bar. 

There she was. 

Her snow-colored hair was draped elegantly over her white oversized dress shirt while her black leggings accentuated her beautiful toned legs. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say the girl almost seemed like she was emitting a yellow divine light. She was like a goddess on Earth. Even from the back, she was beautiful. Youra takes a deep breath before going over to her.

“Who are you?” 

Her words come out sounding more intrusive than she originally meant them to, but she just couldn’t help it. If this was high school, she would’ve been a complete stuttering mess coming face-to-face with someone so beautiful. She’s lucky it isn’t.

“Furai.” The girl turns to her and says in a confident tone with a teasing smile to match. Youra’s breath hitches.

In Furai’s hand was a glass filled with red liquid, possibly one of the fruity drinks they had to offer. Her glossy lips glistened like they were dusted with stars and her black eyes twinkled like small marbles under the dim bar lights, despite their dark color. _She can’t be real_ , Youra thinks to herself. She really did look too good for this world. She almost wants to pinch herself just in case she was dreaming.

Youra was already blushing and flustered inside. She couldn’t even believe it. One word, and the girl’s turned Youra from a suave dragon into a giggling school girl.

“Furai..” Youra holds the name on her tongue, trying to familiarize herself with it. She tries her best not to shift her feet in nervousness but suddenly she’s lost in the girl’s beauty. Everything about her was alluring. From the way she stood and how her clothes looked perfect on her body to the way she tossed her hair back and the way she spoke her own name. Youra was smitten, to say the least. 

She snaps herself back to reality, however.

“That isn’t your real name, is it?”

“Nope. I’m guessing Mireu isn’t yours either?” The girl asks her, quickly glancing at the night’s roster of performers.

“N-no,” She stutters after hearing how good her name sounded on Furai’s lips. Apparently, she still is a nervous mess around pretty girls, even out of high school. This girl could honestly tell her she had cancer and she’d still say thank you.

 _“Damn it, Youra, get yourself together!”_ , she thinks to herself.

“You did well, Mireu,” Furai compliments her with a sly smirk. Furai takes one sip of her drink and Youra can’t help but stare at her lips.

Youra notices how Furai sounds out “Mireu”. Shoot, did she know? Was she _flirting_?

 _“Well, of course, she knows. You honestly can’t be any more obvious, Youra, with your stuttering and oh my God-staring. Stop staring at her please..”_ Youra scolds herself.

“Thanks..Furai. Do you..maybe..wanna dance?” Youra desperately tries to shift her gaze to anything but the angel in front of her. Anything at all, straws, drinks, their bartender, anything. Her panic just makes it more obvious.

“I can’t stay long.” Furai nonchalantly tells her while taking a sip of her drink, and once again Youra finds herself looking at Furai’s glossy cherry-red lips. She didn’t expect all this from someone with such kind eyes, but it was a welcome challenge.

“Just one dance?” There it was. Youra’s smooth moves and suaveness was coming back finally. Make no mistake, she was still equally as flustered internally.

“Hmm..” the blonde pretends to think as she sets down her drink on the bar top, “Alright, since you asked so nicely.” Furai flashes her a smile before taking her hand and suddenly pulling her to the dancefloor. Her pearly smile sets off a mini-bomb inside Youra. Youra was thankful it was dark, she was as red as a tomato at the skin contact too. 

The moment they step on to the dance floor, a slow song starts as if on cue. Youra gives Furai an awkward smile as she takes her to the center.

“Oh, a slow song? Well then.” Furai smiles once more before putting her hand around Youra’s waist and intertwining her fingers with Youra’s other hand. What was this girl doing to her..she usually took the lead. But she really didn’t mind. Furai’s hand was soft like silk and this way she could see all the little details on Furai’s angelic face. Her eyelashes, her little freckles.. Youra wasn’t even sure she was ready to get this close to somebody who made her feel this way. It’s been a long time.

“Well we can’t exactly b-girl to this song, can we now?” Youra tries to alleviate some of the nervousness she was feeling as she puts her hand on Furai’s shoulder with a little humor, and it seems to work.

Furai laughs at her little quip and Youra falls even more. Her laugh was a delicate and elegant one, not one you’d hear from the drunk party-girls in the corner like she usually finds with girls she meets in the club. It was a stark contrast to the noisy and somewhat chaotic atmosphere of the club. It was pleasant to hear. So pleasant that she wouldn’t mind hearing it in the morning while they were having breakfast. Or when they were having their first date. Or even for the rest of her life.

“So you look like an angel, and laugh like an angel too? Where do I sign up?” Youra now had the confidence to flirt a little.

“Are you particular about laughs?” Furai had a curious look on her face which Youra found adorable.

“I guess you can say that,” Youra looks down at her feet, “I’m just really annoyed by those drunk messes in the corner sometimes. You’re different.” She says the last statement as she wills her eyes to look into Furai’s.

“Different how?” Furai pulls Youra closer to her upon asking this question, causing her to stammer again. Youra’s cheeks were a solid shade of red by now.

“I..actually..actually want to hear you laugh. You’re really pleasant to hear,” Youra chokes out, cheeks red and breath uneven. 

“Really now? Maybe you’re just too used to drunkard laughs.”

“Really.”

Furai leads Youra gracefully around the dance floor. It was like a scene from a movie. The brunette feels like she’s flying in the other’s arms and everything around them slows to a stop. Everything around them is blurry, all she can see is Furai’s deep black eyes that make Youra want to drown in their beauty.

Youra thinks that despite a few stutters, this night was going well. Until Furai slides her hand to the small of Youra’s back. Youra’s back tenses up, not because she doesn’t want Furai, but because she was nervous. Super-duper, astoundingly, incredibly nervous. Furai doesn’t know this, however.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Furai looks ashamed and puts her hand back up the other’s waist. Her cheeks became a light shade of pink and she avoided eye contact with Youra. 

“No, it’s ok.” Youra swiftly slides Furai’s hand back down and gives her a little smile.

It seems like for that one moment, the tables turn and they switch personas, but it isn’t long before the tables turn back.

The song finishes and they smile at each other. Neither knew that the other was trying to mask their anxiety through a friendly smile.

“So what is it, Furai?” 

“What do you mean?” Furai asks, her eyebrow raised in a questioning manner.

“Your real name.”

“You’ll just have to find out.” 

Furai all but laughs at her face with the way she teased her. This was really becoming all too much for Youra. Yes, Furai was doing the bare minimum but every little thing she did had an effect on Youra. She really doesn’t know what to do with herself.

“Well Mireu, this was fun,” Furai leans cooly over the bar counter, “but I’ve got to go.”

Youra doesn’t know what to say at all. Does she ask her to stay? Does she ask to walk her home? Youra felt like she was in an impossible math exam, she didn’t know what to do at all. All she could do was stare stupidly. 

“Sayonara, Mireu,” Furai smiles at her and turns to go. _No, no, no, I won’t let this happen_ , Youra thinks. Just before Furai can leave, Youra’s body suddenly decides to unfreeze and do something. 

“Furai, wait.” 

The blonde turns back suddenly and Youra catches a whiff of her fragrant hair as it whips her face softly. Lavender.

“Yes?”

“Do you really have to go? I mean, you’re having fun, right?”

“Yes but I-“

“Then stay. When are you going to experience something like this again? Do you know?”

“No..but...I really can’t stay. I have a job in the morning.” Furai actually looks regretful, and Youra sees this as a chance to make her move.

“Well..it’s dark out already. We need to get you home safe.” Youra says to Furai as she nervously clasps and unclasps her fingers behind her back.

“It’s literally 4:00 am, Mireu. It’s been dark out for a little while,” She replies, glossy lips turning up into a small smile at Youra’s obvious observation.

“That’s beside the point, Furai,” Youra sighs. This girl was _difficult_ , albeit worth it. 

“Just let me at least walk you home.” This was the clincher of the whole night. She had to use desperate measures. Youra pulls her renowned “Favor Face”, the one reserved for asking Missy for free drinks, asking for another tester of makeup at the local beauty store (to add to her wonderful stash of testers from different stores, of course) and in this case, asking to walk a girl to her own house.

“Oh, fine.” Furai rolls her eyes, but at the same time, she was smiling. Youra feels giddy with victory.

_She did it again._


	2. Different But The Same

They shortly exit the club after getting their coats and embark on their journey to Furai’s house.

The streets were clear of cars and the only thing that could be heard were the occasional ruffles of paper posters coming off their wooden beams and their footsteps. Side-by-side, they walk in a strangely comfortable silence, both admiring the beautiful night sky. Youra smiles to herself when she notices that their steps are in sync.

Sometime while walking, Youra looks up to the sky again. She stares longer this time. The stars sparkled like diamonds in the sky and it seemed as if the moon glowed differently, almost brighter. This rarely happened, it was always dark star-less nights when Youra got home from the club. It couldn’t have been a coincidence. She took this as a sign that maybe, just maybe, the stars wanted them to meet. Or maybe it was just her and her constantly overthinking mind.

Youra begins to follow Furai as she leads her through a dark alleyway, but like any human being in their right mind, she hesitates. Small bits of fear and doubt prick at her skin, trying to warn and tell her, _don’t go, don’t go, you’ll die_. She takes one look at the beauty in front of her and decides to go anyway. No backing out now.

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you got home safe, not get drugged up and kidnapped in a dark alleyway.” Youra tries to joke as she looks around and takes in her surroundings. Nothing but pitch black darkness, illuminated only by a single flickering street light and the stars above their heads. _Feels like I just walked into a horror movie, nice_ , Youra thinks, half-expecting to be lead to a white van decorated with the words “ **FREE CANDY** ” haphazardly painted in bloody red paint.

“Just wait.” Furai tells her in a tone that’s firm but kind. Furai’s voice reassures Youra to look around. She sees that the alley is actually clean, free of trash, puddles, drug dealers lurking in the shadows, or as she previously thought, threatening white vans.

“If you wanted my kidney, you just had to say so..” Youra mumbles as she plays with a piece of lint inside her coat pockets. She feels a little calmer now.

“You’d give me your kidney?” Furai turns her head back to look at Youra and asks her with a teasing smile. 

“Well, I-“ Youra stammers, not being able to process her thoughts into words at the sight of Furai’s picture-perfect side profile. If Furai actually turned out to be a serial killer, Youra might actually just let her do whatever she wanted. Twisted, but it’s the truth.

“I’m just kidding,” Furai smiles to her and laughs, “You don’t trust easily, do you? Figures, there are a lot of bad people.” Furai says this with a particular venom in her voice, almost as if recalling a bad memory she didn’t want to remember. 

And no, Youra doesn’t.

Because she was abandoned by her father.

She’s learned at a young age that she shouldn’t trust anyone who hasn’t proven themselves to her. She didn’t go through the phase of believing that her father would come back someday, no, she just up and decided never to trust anyone again. Not even her mother, because she had told Youra that her father was just going on a job. One that lasted almost her whole life apparently. Days, months, high school years, college years, dance auditions passed by. Not a single trace of him. Like he didn’t even exist. She fully believed that he didn’t. He was dead to Youra.

Because whenever she’s alone at night and she reflects on her life, it’s easier to pretend that he died, at war or whatever reason that wouldn’t make her feel so unloved, so unimportant, so worthless, _so not good enough_ to make him stay.

Youra knew the truth. He left because he wasn’t ready to have a child. That and the fact that he didn’t love her as much as she thought he did. He was never coming back if it wasn’t with a gun to his head.

That seemingly easy decision on her father’s part stemmed a long notion of distrust for others within Youra. And it showed. In group projects at school, she always did all the work. And she didn’t mind, because she couldn’t find it in herself to trust anyone, anyone but herself. She never wanted to be a kid who was naive and gullible because of what her father did to her. All she ever did was overthink and question everything, and everyone. And now, she grew up to be a woman who didn’t know how to trust, if not unconsciously or...in love.

“I don’t,” Youra says very frankly, not even showing the slightest bit of hurt or bitterness in her voice, which is something she’s trained herself to do.

“But..you say that like you’ve experienced it,” Youra continues as she turns to face Furai as they walk further into the alley, “Mind telling me about it?”

“Actually, yeah, I do mind,” Furai says and then sighs, “but here’s how the story goes: When I was only ten years old, my granny retired after working as a teacher for more than half her life. She withdrew all of her life’s savings so we could all go on a nice vacation,” Furai closes her eyes tightly and scrunches up the fabric inside her coat pockets, almost as if she would fall apart if she didn’t, “But then this..this _guy_ comes into the picture and-and ruins everything.”

“How..did he ruin everything?” Youra eyes Furai with a very concerned look. Furai looks regretful and hurt and calm and angry all at the same time. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked about it. Youra curses herself internally.

“He told my grandma that he could double her money if she invests with him and his goddamned company. And of course, she didn’t receive a single Won back. Now I’m working three jobs so we could keep our house and pay our debts. The money my grandma lost really hit us hard. At the same time, she keeps blaming herself for not being able to help.”

Furai lets the silence linger for a bit before continuing. Youra notices that her eyes have adjusted to the darkness in this brief moment of silence.

“The truth is..I came to the club for a break from life. I guess I can’t run from my problems.” Furai smiles sweetly as a single teardrop rolls down her cheek. Youra feels her heart crack a little. Only then does she realize that all that sass and coolness at the club earlier was merely a facade.

“Hey, hey,” Youra rushes over to Furai and cups her cheek, brushing her bangs aside. Furai’s eyes shine with tears and emotion in the almost pitch black darkness around them as she leans in to Youra’s touch.

“You know the worst part?” Furai says as hot tears trickle down her cheeks and Youra’s hand.

“What?” Youra asks her, wiping away Furai’s tears with her thumb.

Furai lets out a long anguished sigh that sounded as if it was kept in for half her life. Youra feels her heart break in two.

“She thinks I hate her because I work so much,” Furai sighs once more, “I really don’t. I love her so much I don’t mind working three jobs. I’d do anything to keep my family well-fed and under a roof..” Furai looks away from Youra and the other takes her hand off Furai’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Mireu. If you want to leave now, you can. This is way more than you asked for.” Furai tells Youra as she casts her eyes to the ground.

“It’s fine, Furai,” Youra reassures the other, hesitating before she says “I’m here for you.” Furai accepts this statement with a teary but appreciative nod.

Without anything more to say, Furai wipes her tears away with the back of her hand and resumes their journey again. They have their first moment of awkward silence as Youra doesn’t know what else to say to comfort her. She was never the best at dealing with emotions. She just keeps walking with her head down, unconsciously mirroring the movements of the girl in front of her. 

The crunch of their shoes on the rocky ground fills the silence that hovered over them like an incessant fly. Both had so much on their minds and so much to say.

But it’s left unsaid.

After a while, they arrive at a dimly-lit plain white building and Youra audibly exhales. The silence was absolutely suffocating, much unlike the pleasant experience they had going out of the club.

“We’re here.” Furai says plainly. Youra notices her voice sounds more drained than before. She really shouldn’t have asked.

“Hey, wait,” Youra halts upon seeing the familiar frame of the building, “This doesn’t look like a home, this looks like a..studio?”

And it was. The big wooden sign read “ _Suzuki Dance Studio for Contemporary Ballet and Hip-Hop_ ”. Youra remembers that she’s wanted to take a class here before.

“This _is_ home. To me, at least.” Furai says this with a certain conviction that could be mistaken for a president’s while making a speech. Youra finds it cute.

Every moment that she spends with this girl she falls deeper and deeper. She’s never met someone who was so alike to her. Someone who thought the same thoughts, did the same things. Someone with such a beautiful face, such a beautiful _laugh_ even after all that she’s been through.

Youra watches Furai as she takes a key out of her coat pockets and uses it on the big metal padlock on the building’s main door. She decides not to question why Furai’s brought her to a dance studio at 4:00 am. Hey, maybe that’s where she’ll kill her. She wouldn’t really object much.

They enter the building and travel through a small hallway before they walk up to a plain white metal door and go in.

“This place is mine and my brother’s, he used to dance but now he’s a businessman so he doesn’t come in as much as I do. That and the fact that this is where I work.” She explains as she flips a switch to open the lights. Youra shields her eyes and squints, eyes having been fully adjusted to the darkness earlier. 

“Welcome to my home!” Furai spreads her arms and grins widely like a kid at a toy store. _It’s like she wasn’t even crying earlier_ , Youra notes.

The room is big, big enough to maybe accommodate twenty to thirty people. Mirrors covered the walls while the floor was a simple light brown wood. This room matched perfectly with the minimalistic feel of the entire building.

“I’ve wanted to take a class here before. For contemporary.” Youra tells Furai. Her eyes have a certain glint as she says this, a glint that only comes when she’s discussing something she’s passionate about, like dance.

“Well, you’re in luck because that’s what I teach. Come in for a class sometime!” She says as she gives Youra a sincere smile. Youra’s heart leaps at the proposition.

Furai takes Youra by the hand to the center of the huge room and tells her to stand there. Youra quickly checks the floor for any mysterious red stains and lets out a relieved sigh when she doesn’t find any. 

Furai suddenly turns off the lights and Youra wants to ask why on impulse, but in a span of one night, she’s learned to trust, even just a little. She doesn’t know if that was a bad decision on her part, she doesn’t even know this girl’s real name or if she was actually a psychotic serial killer who leads their victims to a dance studio before they kill them as part of their M.O, but for some reason unknown to her, she keeps her mouth shut anyway. Youra watches the blonde flip a different switch and is surprised as streaks of color dance all across her face without warning. It also seems that while Youra was in the dark, Furai was able to connect her phone to a stereo. Her feet unconsciously step towards Furai as another slow song starts.

Furai slides an arm around Youra’s waist and holds her hand with the other as Youra’s hand flies up to Furai’s shoulder, almost like it was the hundredth time they’ve done it.

They dance again. But Youra notices they’re closer this time. They’ve both let go of their former inhibitions and were just ready to experience whatever their feelings led them to. Youra has her head on Furai’s chest and almost laughs because, wow, it wasn’t just her who was nervous. Furai’s heart beat furiously, almost akin to a jackhammer at a construction site. 

Stars and little multi-colored specks swirled all around them, making Youra feel like she and Furai transcended to a whole other universe. To a universe that was just for them.

It was the same. But different. But the same. Youra was so confused. All she knew was that she liked this girl, in a way she’s never liked anyone before. She was overwhelmed, happy, confused, all at the same time. Those feelings are only doubled by what Furai says next.

“Haeyun.”

“Huh?” The sudden revelation makes Youra take her head off Furai’s chest and look at her face. Tiny bright stars flitted across her blue-lit cheeks.

“Suzuki Haeyun. That’s my real name. Your turn now.” Furai, no, _Haeyun_ says in almost a whisper. It made Youra feel like Haeyun was some crime-fighting superhero and that her identity was their own little secret.

“That’s beautiful,” Youra smiles, but it fades once she remembers what happened earlier, “I’m..sorry.”

“Sorry? Well, that’s an interesting name.” Haeyun arches an eyebrow in amusement.

“No, sorry, my name is Im Youra, I’m just really sorry for making you cry earlier.”

“You’re not the one who should be saying sorry.” Haeyun tells her in a gentle tone, though there was sadness behind her eyes. 

They dance in a more comfortable silence before Haeyun picks up the conversation again.

“I’m happy I met you, Youra.”

“I’m really happy I met you too, Haeyun. You don’t know how happy I am you’re not a serial killer.” She grins widely.

“Who says I’m not?”

“Hey, don’t joke like that!”

They laugh and dance in pure happiness and Youra feels like she’s overcome with complete euphoria. She feels like a giggly highschooler now, all because of one person. It’s been so long since she’s felt like this. But like with all things in Youra’s life, she still has some doubts. At the back of her head she isn’t even sure about anything. Her constantly over-thinking mind starts to bubble up questions but Youra puts a lid on it before it could spill over and take her away from this beautiful moment like it always did. She decides that she’ll just forget about all those doubts for now and enjoy things right now as they are. 

Youra lays her head back down on Haeyun’s chest again and closes her eyes, allowing herself to just fully savor this once in a lifetime experience. They sway in time to the music, occasionally turning. 

It was all so beautiful. They were surrounded by stars, cosmos, and galaxies. Everything in space, but it was just the two of them, slow dancing among the stars like it was where they belonged. Youra’s thought of her ideal date so many times in her life, but she never imagined that this moment with Haeyun would be better than anything she ever came up with.

Youra questions why such good things have to end as the song finishes. The whole song was probably three or five minutes, but Youra felt like her entire life passed by her in those minutes. She’s never experienced something so magical and something quite so out of this world. If these were the last moments of her life, she would be happy to die, having met the true love of her life.


End file.
